Existing Portrayals of Miss Havisham

Miss Havisham has had different portrayals across the platforms of TV, film and theatre which give the audience different impressions of her and her wellbeing, although every single interpretation does indicate that she is a woman that does not look after herself and is living in the past. I have looked at the different aesthetic portrayals of her to see what differentiates across the platforms as I would like to have an idea as to what looks are more appropriate for which audiences.

Film Portrayals

Helena Bonham Carter (Great Expectations 2012)-

 

• Extremely pale face
• Red under the eyes
• Frizzy, messy white hair
• Red eyes
• Pale lips
• Yellow teeth
• Hair adorned with jewellery
• Sometimes wears her veil over her face
• Large ruffled dress that looks dusty, stained and ragged. 

This version of Miss Havisham I believe is more focused on the costume rather than her face which looks a bit old and unkempt but not as exaggerated as I believe I would like to create. However I think that if I attempt to create something too elaborate I won't have enough time as I will have to use latex and other materials that will take up time. 

Martitia Hunt (Great Expectations 1946)- 

• Rather fresh faced compared to Helena Bonham Carter's 
• Very messy, frizzy hair
• More focused on costume. Her dress is very lacey and has a long veil extending from the back of her hair to her feet. 
• The setting of her house is extremely cluttered and exaggerated with a lot of furnishings and a lot of cob webs. 
• Overall her makeup is not haggard enough for my liking. 

TV portrayals

Gillian Anderson (Great Expectations 2011)-

 

• Chapped lips
• Dark, yellow circles around the eyes which is a result of lack of sunlight and malnutrition
• White hair that is in a stereotypical early Victorian style
• Dress colour has significantly aged, yet she still wears it. 
• She is a haggard, worn version of her past self. You can imagine what she would have looked like on her wedding day as the only thing that has changed her is time. 
• This is my favourite portrayal of Miss Havisham. You can tell that she is old because of her white hair, however she still has her young self beneath all the aged clothing and exhausted aesthetic. Other interpretations feature an old actress already which does not need that much work, however I believe that Anderson has been aged well without having to be old. I don't believe that this look is overly exaggerated, which is appealing to me for my assessment. 
• In the programme, she has a rash on her hand which she constantly scratches at when she is stressed, which is a significant point to think about for the assessment.

Jean Simmons (Great Expectations 1989)

• Again, more focus on costume and setting is used in this as the actress is already old and so not much makeup needs to be used. 
• I found that in this series she was more stern and harsh then deranged and psychotic like other interpretations of Miss Havisham. 
• I also found that her hair is more late Victorian rather than early Victorian as she has curls at the back of the head that extend down, despite them not being very long. 
• I don't believe this will be an inspiration for my assessment as I would like to focus on makeup and have a more historically accurate hairstyle. 

Overall it is apparent that those who wanted to create their version of Miss Havisham had a focus on the ageing and fatigued look of Miss Havisham, whether it be through costume or makeup. As we are studying makeup I think that the 2011 Gillian Anderson version and 2012 Helena Bonham Carter version of Miss Havisham are the most helpful due to the fact that they use fairly young actresses that are then made up to look careworn, distraught and disheveled.